What happens when mental illness and suicide strike your family not once, but three times?

In this episode, we talk with Catalina, who has had to support her family through the loss of two brothers and her mother to suicide. It's an honest conversation about mental health, the difficulty of getting an accurate diagnosis, and why suicide remains one of the most silenced topics, even within families themselves.

Catalina also discusses genetics versus environment: while genetics may predispose you, it doesn't determine it—the environment, upbringing, and emotional tools provided from childhood also play a key role. She shares what she has learned in this grieving process, hoping that her story can help someone else talk about it, ask for help, or better support someone going through something similar.

⚠️ This episode addresses suicide and mental health. If you or someone you know is going through a difficult time, in Chile you can call the suicide prevention hotline *4141, available 24 hours a day.

00:00 – Welcome to Catalina, who lost her little brother, her mother, and her triplet to suicide
00:41 – The importance of talking about suicide
01:56 – A family of eight: triplets, twins, and a little sister
02:50 – Mental health diagnosis
04:12 – Why suicide is such a taboo subject
06:26 – Her mother's notebooks: the key to understanding the story
07:08 – Gabriel, one of the twins
07:57 – The first signs in childhood
08:46 – "There was a lack of combined work between psychiatry and psychology"
11:00 – Adolescence: a particularly vulnerable stage
13:44 – The accident that changed everything
14:40 – "At age 11, she said for the first time: I want to die"
15:54 – She is diagnosed with attention deficit disorder
17:31 – When her mother also falls
19:32 – Of the From 15 to 18 years old: Gabriel's decline
21:37 – Gabriel's death
22:55 – "Genetics predisposes you, but doesn't determine you"
23:46 – Prevention through tantrums: frustration tolerance from 2 or 3 years old
27:32 – Self-care
29:47 – His mother: bipolar disorder and electroshock therapy
31:12 – "She decided to commit suicide because she said: no one needs me anymore"
34:18 – Then it was his triplet's turn
35:05 – Germán in Castro: when he was homeless
36:32 – "There is no more damaging factor than loneliness"
38:36 – "Don't be afraid to ask"
39:21 – The most important warning sign: hopelessness
41:57 – Finding the right professional
43:56 – "Each family member has their role"
46:54 – His sister and the The psychiatrist who greeted her with a hug
49:48 – The three pillars: mental health, body, and environment
53:58 – The discomfort of talking about the topic
55:29 – Suicide in Chile: five people every day
57:22 – What are we doing wrong as a society?
57:54 – "Tantrums are normal; the important thing is learning to regulate them"
59:43 – Her message to mothers and fathers
1:01:48 – Closing and thanks

#UnspokenPodcast #MentalHealth #Suicide #Grief #SuicidePrevention #Family #PodcastChile